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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Janesta, I read that post and believe I fit
the description of one of those who works for the homeless and neglected,
and I wasn't offended by what Tom wrote. He's right, you know. So
many just walk on by, and the absolute disregard by the Bush administration and
Congress is appalling and heartbreaking. We let war use men and women as
fodder then toss them aside with little regard for their wounds, both visible
and not so visible. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks for what you do for fellow human
beings. Some of the best work people do goes unseen by the rest of
us. Tom is a man of conscience who has an acerbic bite.
That isn't a bad thing, you know. (An inappropriate place for that
voice is when it is unearned or used on the defenseless--on school kids by
teachers, for example.) You actually have the wonderful gift
yourself. So please, let it go. I don't believe his posting was
deserving of your rebuke and the article that he provided was important, and
a<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>n indictment against those who foster such
neglect.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sue Hovey</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=janesta@gmail.com href="mailto:janesta@gmail.com">Janesta</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=thansen@moscow.com
href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, November 08, 2007 6:51
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] 1 in 4 Homeless
is a Veteran</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Tom,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I take GREAT offense to your comment prior to the story you posted.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Do you have any idea what I do for people that are homeless? Do you have
any idea what the other fine people on this list, and in our community
do? No, you don't, or you would not have posted such an outright ignornant
comment. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You want people to give, and have compassion? You might try listing a
local, Spokane, or Coeur d' Alene group that is helping these brave,
bruised, and broken men and women. Tell us what YOU are doing. When
are you making a trip to where the vets are with food, blankets and warm
clothing for the winter? Let me know, I'll be one of the first to donate.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Having a member of the family who is mentally ill and homeless is one of
the most heart-breaking events that can happen to a family. Sadly, I know this
from first hand knowledge.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Janesta<BR> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 11/8/07, <B class=gmail_sendername>Tom
Hansen</B> <<A href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">thansen@moscow.com</A>>
wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Here
is another topic for you to consider after you have ignoringly walked<BR>by
the donation cup on Veterans' day with less concern than throwing your
<BR>dog a bone.<BR><BR>>From today's (November 8,
2007)<BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>1
in 4 homeless is a veteran, study says<BR><BR>1,500 are from ongoing
wars<BR><BR>Kimberly Hefling<BR>Associated Press<BR>November 8,
2007<BR><BR>WASHINGTON - Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the
United<BR>States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult
population,<BR>according to a report to be released today. <BR><BR>And
homelessness is not just a problem among middle-age and elderly<BR>veterans.
Younger veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are trickling into<BR>shelters
and soup kitchens seeking services, treatment or help with finding <BR>a
job.<BR><BR>The Veterans Affairs Department has identified 1,500 homeless
veterans from<BR>the current wars and says 400 of them have participated in
its programs<BR>specifically targeting homelessness.<BR><BR>The National
Alliance to End Homelessness, a public education nonprofit, <BR>based the
findings of its report on numbers from Veterans Affairs and the<BR>Census
Bureau. 2005 data estimated that 194,254 homeless people out of<BR>744,313
on any given night were veterans.<BR><BR>In comparison, the VA says that 20
years ago, the estimated number of <BR>veterans who were homeless on any
given night was 250,000.<BR><BR>Some advocates say such an early presence of
veterans from Iraq and<BR>Afghanistan at shelters does not bode well for the
future. It took roughly a<BR>decade for the lives of Vietnam veterans to
unravel to the point that they<BR>started showing up among the homeless.
Advocates worry that intense and<BR>repeated deployments leave newer
veterans particularly vulnerable.<BR><BR>"We're going to be having a tsunami
of them eventually because the mental<BR>health toll from this war is
enormous," said Daniel Tooth, director of<BR>veterans affairs for Lancaster
County, Pa.<BR><BR>While services to homeless veterans have improved in the
past 20 years, <BR>advocates hope more will be done to prevent homelessness
and provide<BR>affordable housing to the younger veterans while there's a
window of<BR>opportunity.<BR><BR>"When the Vietnam War ended, that was part
of the problem. The war was over, <BR>it was off TV, nobody wanted to hear
about it," said John Keaveney, a<BR>Vietnam veteran and a founder of New
Directions in Los Angeles, which<BR>provides substance abuse help, job
training and shelter to veterans. <BR><BR>"I think they'll be forgotten,"
Keaveney said of Iraq and Afghanistan<BR>veterans. "People get tired of it.
It's not glitzy that these are young,<BR>honorable, patriotic Americans.
They'll just be veterans, and that happens <BR>after every
war."<BR><BR>Keaveney said it's difficult for his group to persuade some
homeless Iraq<BR>veterans to stay for treatment and help because they don't
relate to the<BR>older veterans. Those who stayed have had success - one is
now a stockbroker <BR>and another is applying to be a police officer, he
said.<BR><BR>The Iraq vets seeking help with homelessness are more likely to
be women,<BR>less likely to have substance abuse problems, but more likely
to have mental <BR>illness - mostly related to post-traumatic stress, said
Pete Dougherty,<BR>director of homeless veterans programs at the
VA.<BR><BR>Overall, 45 percent of participants in the VA's homeless programs
have a<BR>diagnosable mental illness and more than three out of four have a
substance <BR>abuse problem, while 35 percent have both, Dougherty
said.<BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
round town, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"I was a
soldier. <BR>I am a soldier.<BR>I will always be a soldier."<BR><BR>- Army
Veteran
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